Unravelling Lost Cuisines of India with Marriott

"Traveling is like talking with people of other centuries."

~Rene Descartes

Sometimes dining too can be a similar experience. It is such a pleasure unearthing rare cuisines and dishes although such opportunities are few and far between. Come to think of it, we bloggers dine for a living. We are palate soldiers who bite into all kinds of food, whether we like it or not. We eat even when fed up and whether we need all those calories or not, whether the food is to our liking or not. We even merrily weather condescending remarks on being gluttons, forever indulging in hedonistic pleasures. But jibes from friends and those engaged in slightly more intellectual type of writing aside, I am sure every food writer seeks something more stimulating when it comes to gastronomic experiences. 

Once in a while, one comes across an experience that pushes the boundaries and enlightens you with so much knowledge and information about the evolution of food. There is research, there is nostalgia, there are quaint tales revolving around some foods. We may have forgotten some foods, in our hurry to be global citizens, in our daily rat race, in our rampant so called modernisation and urbanisation. Some traditional recipes die with every generation. Add to that, the fact that Indian chefs in the past have not always been the best at documenting their craft. So every effort to restore these timeless recipes is to be lauded.

Chef Aungshuman Chakraborty at Marriott Hyderabad recently hosted a table showcasing the 'Lost Cuisines of India' for a fortunate few at Bidri, which is a benchmark when it comes to serving the cuisines of the Riyasats. The F&B team further enhanced the experience with old fashioned presentation of dishes amidst much fanfare by staff in attractive traditional uniforms. The festival is still on till 5th Aug 2018. The experience was actually like tracing centuries old culinary traditions. 

The starters itself set the expectations. From the whimsical Parindey mein Parinda, a Mughal era dish where a chicken is stuffed with quail which further is stuffed with a boiled egg, all in different marinades and cooked for 4 hours, to Pathiyan Sekeya Kukkad, which transported me to childhood holidays in interior Punjab where cooking on chulhas lit by cowdung cakes was a real thing! I have witnessed those scenes long ago, the arduous labour women of the house indulged in daily to produce those meals. Now we have long faces the day the cook doesn't turn up. But yes, we've come a long way baby and no harm in getting served these delicacies on a platter by liveried waiters to boot. We have earned it I guess! The Fish Kabiraji really struck a chord too with me, with its utter simplicity, give me this over Fish n Chips any day, a Bengali fried fish wrapped in a lacy egg nest with an obvious British influence but so much better! The veg starters were comparatively not so exciting for me. Murgh Zameen Doz is another stellar dish, I loved it as it had a mild white marination I have begun to favour more off late, as compared to red ones. And who can resist well-made Mutton Cutlets Kolkata style, although I have had better ones in some great pop-ups by Bengali home chefs in Delhi. 

Fish Kabiraji

Moving to main course, stunning names popped up from the menu with almost an evocative imagery to go with them, such as Chicken Dak Bungalow (creaking doors anyone?), Railway Mutton Curry (a throwback to the 1900s when travelling by train was considered aristocratic and the promise of interesting co-passengers, ahem), Anglo Indian Meatball Curry, Boti Ni Akuri ( the lovely Parsi Akuri with a boost of Mutton chunks) and Lady Curzon's Seafood Curry, a fine relic from the Raj days. The veg section too had gems like Royal Calcutta Golf Club Kofta Curry, from the first golf club established in 1829.

The two rice dishes were absolutely unique too: The Moti Biryani, perfect pearl shaped egg whites with yakhni basmati rice pulao, from the kitchen of last surviving Nawab of Lucknow. The Jackfruit Pulao was reminiscent of Hindu Kayastha cooking where this fibrous raw fruit came to the rescue of meat lovers who wanted to have a robust Pulao but were prohibited to have meat on certain days.

The breads include the fiesty Maah Choleya de Dhode ( a typical Punjabi bread again), Jonna Roti (unleavened Sorghum Flour bread common in South India), Babbru (a deep fried bread from Himachal) and Thali Peeth from Western India eaten in the harvest season.

The emphasis was definitely on rare and whole grains, wholesome food and slow cooking techniques that gave these dishes a high nutritive value and gravitas.

Desserts were Byculla Club Soufflé (an Amaretto flavoured souffle from a quaint Mumbai club),  Kabishambhardana Sandesh (a steamed Bengali dessert cooked in Jorasanko, first cooked by Rabindranath Tagore's niece on his 50th birthday! This dish is not sold anywhere and the recipe is known to a chosen few. Talk of feeling privileged) and Ras Kheer. They smartly steer clear of Hyderabadi heritage dishes as that is indeed another story, so why even go there.

The festival is a must visit for anyone who is interested in food history and our rich culinary heritage, for true connoisseurs who seek dining experiences that enrich your minds. It is like a date with the past, through a culinary time machine that only Marriott could have conjured!